Comic Book Review: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #691

In the closing pages of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #690, a large portion of the staff of Horizon Labs had been transformed into lizards. Meanwhile the real Lizard was walking around in a the human guise of Curt Connor as he frantically tries to regain his reptilian form. Spider-Man has been advised by Madame Web to return to Horizon to stop something “dire” from happening. But what is it? And can Spidey prevent it?

When Spider-Man begins to try and figure out why the new lizard creatures are being docile now, he figures that it must have something to do with Dr. Connors. When Spidey confronts Connors (who’s still really the Lizard in his head), Connors injects himself with his new Lizard serum and begins to transform back to his old scaly self. Spidey, realizing that the Lizard will be able to control the transformed Horizon lizards, races to get Connors away from them before he can regain those abilities.

When the Lizard finally appears, he’s undergone yet another transformation and looks different than any of his previous incarnations. Claiming this to be his final evolution, he attacks Spider-Man and begins wreaking havoc on the streets of New York. Spider-Man chases just behind and tries to keep the Lizard from killing anyone.

Okay… I can’t discuss much more of this issue without ruining some awesome plot points. It’s a great issue, so go read it. Then come back here for the rest of my review. Read it? Good! Because here come the SPOILERS.

As the Lizard runs amok, it quickly becomes apparent that his brief exposure to a human form has somehow changed his mentality and, despite the Lizard’s statements to the contrary, it seems Doc Connors mind is still alive somewhere inside the monster. Every time the Lizard tries to kill anyone, he sees Connor’s wife and son in the place of the random pedestrians and stays his hand… er… claw.

Spidey rushes back to Horizon and retrieves Morpheus’ cure that was used the last time to turn the Lizard human. However, since this is supposedly the Lizard’s final transformation, if something goes wrong with the serum, Spidey could end up killing Doc Connors forever. Spider-Man decides that there’s too much at stake and he’s willing to risk it.

In the end, the Lizard is… well… that would be too many spoilers wouldn’t it? But the end result is more touching than anything I’ve seen with the Lizard in a long while.

But even after the shocking Lizard finale, writer Dan Slott manages to toss another monkey wrench into Spidey’s 50th anniversary in the closing pages. Madame Web is disturbed. It seems that Spider-Man’s decision to use the serum on the Lizard has caused a darkness to run through the web of life and she can no longer see what’s going to happen. But amidst the darkness, Web gets a glimpse of a man in Central America with a spider emblazoned on his chest. When that man finally removes his mask in the final panel, my jaw hit the floor! Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary just kicked it up a notch! Ho… lee… cow!

Mr. Slott, if you happen to read my humble reviews, know this… you are now officially my second favorite Spider-Man writer behind Stan “The Man” himself. You’ve rocked your entire ASM run but this issue… you got an old fan excited for next issue in a way that I haven’t been in decades! Great work!